The present invention relates to a structural apparatus used principally for security purposes. More particularly, the invention relates to braces which are adapted to be hingedly attached to cargo carrying vehicles such as railway flatcars, or the like, for the purpose of securing the doors of containerized cargo. Generally, this improved brace will insure against pilferage which is accomplished by trespassers who forcibly open the doors and, it will insure against loss due to damaged cargo which not infrequently shifts its position within the container and bursts through the doors when the transporting vehicle starts or stops suddenly.
In functional operation, the present invention is intended to accomplish many of the same objectives as expressed in my earlier aforementioned application entitled, "Improvement in a Bracing Device". A full appreciation of the differences between the two, however, requires an understanding of the background problem to which these apparati are directed. Briefly, the problem reveals itself most explicitly in the railway cargo industry where flatcars, those used extensively for many years, have relatively recently found an additional use in transporting that which is commonly known as "containerized cargo". The use of containers on railway flatcars has increased significantly in recent years. The relative ease of loading and unloading containers from one shipment vehicle, such as a truck, to another, such as a flatcar, by means of a crane or a specially manufactured container lift, makes such increase easily understandable. The containers themselves commonly take the form of a rectangular box having a reinforced structure, generally 8 feet wide and either 20 feet or 40 feet long. These rectangular boxes of "containers" commonly have end doors which are hinged at their vertical side so as to be adapted to be swung outwardly from the center where they are locked together.
Although there has been increased use of the "containerized" concepts of transporting cargo, there has developed concomitantly a problem in protecting the cargo contained therein from pilferage and other damage during shipment. The industry has devised numerous locking devices to secure the container doors but it appears that there yet exists to be found on the market any kind or type of locking mechanism that is not vulnerable to a heavy duty pair of metal snips or a crowbar or a similar apparatus, all of which, of course, can be purchased at any hardware store. Thus, by forcibly removing a padlock, chain lock or the like, the doors to the container may be opened from the center and the entire cargo exposed to pilferage and loss. The fact that containerized cargo frequently stands overnight on a flatcar in a railway yard only enhances the potential for loss and the fact that the railway cars themselves are subjected to sudden starts and stops when moving further enhances the probability that the cargo may shift against the container doors, thus snapping the locking device and allowing the freight to fall free from the container onto the surrounding terrain.
My prior application endeavored to obviate the aforementioned problems by disclosing the manner in which the tremendous weight of the container and its contents could be used advantageously as a part of the locking method and apparatus of the invention. Such disclosure noted that containers generally weigh 40,000 or more pounds and can be loaded or unloaded only with a crane or container-lift. In operation, my earlier described brace, is first properly positioned and engaged to the floor of the flatcar in the same way as described herein. The container is then lowered onto the flatcar, the brace abutting against the center of the container doors. Because the brace is locked to the floor of the flatcar, the container doors cannot be opened because to do so one must either move the container or the brace. The container cannot be moved because of its immense weight. The brace cannot be moved because removal from the flatcar floor requires that the container be unloaded from the flatcar and this requires, of course, the crane or special container-lift. The doors of the container are therefore secured. From the viewpoint of the potential intruder, the security brace disclosed is vulnerable only to a welder's cutting torch, this being, of course, readily detectable in most circumstances. The losses relating to shifting-cargo would be reduced substantially also since the brace itself is fixed, in static position, to the floor of the flatcar and cannot be removed therefrom without first removing the container.
My earlier application further disclosed a brace characterized by a pair of legs disposed in substantially perpendicular relation to one another to form an L-shaped apparatus. A diagonal strut reinforced the relative position of the legs with respect to one another. One of the legs is adapted to reside and rest horizontally on the floor of the flatcar and is to be engaged thereto by a plurality of engaging lugs which extended downwardly from the horizontal leg and into engaging relationship with slots in the floor of the railroad car in such a manner and position as to securely and fixedly connect the brace to the floor. The other leg of the brace is thus positioned against the end doors of the cargo container. When the brace was not in use it could be easily stored in a slot in the floor of the railway car by simply sliding the brace therethrough into a compartment beneath the floor. In such a manner, the brace provided an improved prefabricated apparatus that unquestionably precluded horizontal movement of cargo through the doors of containers carried by railroad cars or other transporting vehicles. There was further provided an improved bracing means for use on cargo vehicles and which precluded pilferage by the opening of doors on the containers. There was further provided a unique apparatus of the simplest design which is both inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use. Moreover, the apparatus contains no moving parts such as characterizes a lock and is so durable in construction and design as to make it virtually indestructible except by loss.
The present invention not only accomplishes all of the objectives and advantages of my earlier invention but is, in addition, advantageous thereover in certain respects.
First, the present invention is hingedly affixed to the floor of the transporting vehicle and thus precludes the necessity to lift it and insert it in the slots of the vehicle floor in order to achieve its operative position.
Similarly, the apparatus hereof need not be removed from its operative position and physically carried to its stowed position when not in functional operation.
The present apparatus may be moved from its operative to its stowed position simply by tipping it over and laying it on the floor of the transporting vehicle. The apparatus cannot be damaged or adversely affected in any way.
Also, the apparatus herein can be disposed in its operative position on a flatcar, for example, and a truck bearing a container thereon, or simply having container-type doors, can be backed onto the flatcar and up to the bracing means hereof without substantial assistance or direction from another person.
These and numerous other features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description, claims and drawings, wherein like numerals denote like parts in these several views and wherein: